Biafra: Ohanaeze backs UK’s move to grant asylum to IPOB, MASSOB members

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has said that the UK’s Asylum Visa to members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has ended the falsehood and sponsored violence against Biafrans.
Recall that the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) released new guidelines to its decision makers on how to consider and grant asylum applications by members of Biafran secessionist groups.
Asylum is to be granted to “persecuted” members IPOB and MASSOB.
And the Nigerian government has swiftly condemned the decision of the UK to grant asylum to the members of the IPOB and the MASSOB.
But in its reaction, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide described the news as the” genuineness of the international community to change the ugly narratives of Federal authorities to suppress the Southeasterners and unjustly spread falsehoods of non-violent agitators being terrorist groups.”
Ohaneze’s statement was signed by Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the Secretary-General, and made available to journalists on Tuesday.
He said the move had contradicted the falsehoods being presented by the authorities to the international community and will help to prevent unnecessary witch-hunting and clampdown on non violent Biafra agitators while the main terrorist groups are pampered by the Federal Authorities.
The statement said “We call on all foreign missions in Nigeria to extend such gestures to all freedom fighters and proponents of self determination groups in the country, as it will help to end reckless sponsored violence against Biafra agitators, and bring the government to deploy peaceful mechanisms to ensure that the remote causes of the agitations are properly addressed.
“This is the best time, Federal authorities should address the marginalization of Southeast and compensations of the zones should be inevitable with huge projects.”